The 10 men of Wales thought they had ridden their luck to another point, but a dramatic finish saw Iran snatch a 2-0 win in stoppage-time.
Hennessey sent off for the WelshPage’s men rode their luck throughoutDramatic twist in stoppage-time
TELL ME MORE: Rob Page’s side headed into their second outing of the 2022 World Cup hoping to take a sizeable step towards the last 16, but ultimately found themselves slipping into reverse. Wales created the first big chance of the game, with Kieffer Moore seeing a stabbed volley from six yards smartly beaten away, but they could have been behind after 15 minutes. A poor pass from Connor Roberts caused problems and Ali Gholizadeh eventually walked the ball over the line, but VAR came to the rescue for the Welsh defence as a tight offside call was confirmed.
A lack of quality at both ends of the field did neither side any favours from that point, with promising attacks and sloppy final passes failing to deliver a breakthrough. Iran hit the woodwork on two occasions within a matter of seconds shortly after half-time, but Wales rode their luck.
An open contest swung wildly from one end and the other in the last 30 minutes, with Hennessey becoming the first man to collect a red card at Qatar 2022 when rushing out of his area and into a rash challenge – and the Welsh could not hold on from there. Roozbeh Cheshmi stepped off the bench to open the scoring in style in the 98th minute, as he fired home from 25 yards, with Ramin Rezaeian grabbing a second three minutes later as Page’s men flooded forward.
THE MVP: Cheshmi was only introduced in the 78th minute, but he made a decisive contribution in what looked liked being a cameo outing. Iran had thrown everything at Wales and appeared to be running out of ideas with only a matter of seconds left on the clock. Cheshmi delivered the moment of brilliance that the contest had lacked, with a stunning strike from distance that fizzed into the bottom corner. Danny Ward, who replaced Hennessey, was left picking the ball out of his net a second time as Carlos Queiroz’s side found a way of getting the job done and gave themselves a serious shot at reaching the knockout stages.
THE BIG LOSER: Hennessey looked like being the hero for Wales at one stage, with some resolute keeping leaving Iran frustrated. He rode his luck at times, with technology and the woodwork coming to his rescue, but that eventually ran out in the 86th minute. A rush of blood led the towering shot-stopper a long way outside of his box and he slammed into Mehdi Taremi. The referee initially brandished a yellow card, but that was quickly upgraded after checking the pitch-side monitor. Elsewhere, captain Gareth Bale was unable to make his usual impact on the game as Iran shackled him well.
MATCH IN THREE PHOTOS:
AS IT STANDS:
TeamPWDLGDPTSEngland1100+43Iran2101+23United States101001Wales2011-21
WHAT NEXT? Wales, who are now in must-win territory, will finish their Group B campaign with a clash against England on Tuesday, while Iran are set to face the United States on the same day.
MATCH RATING (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐⭐
